


Nothing Grows in the Underworld

by scholarlydragon



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Awkward, Banter, F/M, Fate, First Date, Gen, Scoundrel, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23150722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scholarlydragon/pseuds/scholarlydragon
Summary: The Fates don't interfere, but they do watch.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	Nothing Grows in the Underworld

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks for my betas: Jessy, Alulah, and Borg.

  
  


Greetings, friend. 

There’s no need to look so shocked. I know exactly why you have come, just as I know everything about you. I can tell you are expecting something dramatic. However, I am afraid you will be disappointed on that front. 

There is little unexpected or dramatic in the unspooling of a life. One action leads to the next. The mindset of five years ago leads predictably to the actions of the present. Prejudice or fear leads to foreseeable results. My sisters and I have seen it all. We know it all.

However, that is not to say that there is no reason to observe. I, in particular, have taken to watching the lives of beings unfold in the moment, watching them discover things. They are, as are we all, subject to the will of  _ ananke _ . But that does not stop them from hoping and striving, from trying to alter their realms, lives, and fates. Their past is done, their future is all but set. I leave such things to my sisters. What I have found I most enjoy is watching with them in the present, as their thoughts and fears and joys play out. It’s fascinating being caught in the moment with them, the breathless anticipation in their cores as they are unsure of what will happen next. My sisters think I am odd for it. No matter. We each have our hobbies.

My apologies. I have digressed.

Here is where your interest and mine coincide. It just so happens that these two beings are some of my favorites to watch. You can perhaps guess that by how easily this tape just unspooled. Only those that we have handled on many occasions flow so easily though the hands. I have never been able to decide if it is simply because the tape becomes more flexible, or if there is some more metaphysical explanation. The hands of Fate touching lives and all that.

Now, now, it’s no use leaning closer just yet. The tape must be projected to be seen clearly. I know you are hungry to know what will happen with these two. Have no fear. I will show you. I believe there are several realms worth of creatures aching to know what will happen. Small wonder. At the very least, it’s amusing to see that the gods are no different from the mortals in their hunger to make something of each moment. But my sisters and I have foreseen that these two deities will have impact far beyond the mere consideration of romantic entanglement. It is not difficult for those even without our gifts to know that their union could shake the realms. I can only hope that they can withstand the troubles that lay ahead. Lachesis refuses to tell me what might be coming for them, no matter how many times I’ve asked...

Dreadfully sorry. I distracted myself again.

Here, it will take just a moment to set up the projector. Now, let us observe.

Ah. Dusk in the underworld. Without sunlight, I know it is difficult to tell, but there are cues in the flow of the afterlife, and the end of a long day looks the same in the dark as in the light. Beings wind down from a day of work and head home, to joy or loneliness.

All in all, the Underworld is a silent place.

There is life here, but nothing native. Living beings have come, drawn by the promise of work and potential of a good existence, but they are not of this place. Not even the shades of mortals can claim the Underworld as a motherland. Any creature that comes here is either transient or visitor, even the gods. The Underworld produces nothing. Indeed, it is said that nothing grows here, and that is true for more than flora. Unless tended carefully, everything from lives to enterprise will wither to stagnation. Few beings can manage the dedication necessary to promote true growth for very long.

It is a wonder, in a way, that Hades has managed to build any kind of domain here, much less a thriving realm. It is a testament, perhaps, to his ingenuity and intelligence, or perhaps simply stubbornness. Young blood does as young blood will.

However, in devoting so much of his tending to his empire, he has had no concentration left for himself. Nor will he be able to tend careful growth in his heart without an impetus. An impetus that might just be provided in the form of a tiny, pink goddess.

Can you see them there, walking side by side through the city he built? I believe they had a date tonight. Their first, if memory serves. He was so adorably awkward when he asked her. 

They are quiet, his tall form and her smaller one draw in on themselves as if they need protection, as if they cannot bear the risk of reaching out. I’ve watched enough beings in love, and these two in particular, to know the signs. They are head over heels for each other. But there are problems in the way even now.

If you know them, you know their silence is not unnatural, but this hesitance is. Both of them are the sort to actively pursue what they want. But something stops them. It is borne of fear and the knowledge that reaching out has led to heartache in the past. They are reluctant to risk it again. But they must. Even they know they must face the risk if they are to have what they desire. For now, though, they walk, silent in the silence. 

Ah, I see they are coming to a park. I hoped he might bring her here. It is one of his favorite places, I think. Hades tends to take walks here, sometimes with his dogs when he needs to think. He seems to be calmed by it for all that it doesn’t have the greenery of Olympus or the mortal realm.

See how their hands reach for each other before darting away again? A promising sign. Perhaps they only need to nerve themselves up. 

Oh! They’re stopping. Let’s see… Ah, he’s taken her to the bridge. I’ve noticed that Hades seems to favor this spot and I am glad of it. The little stream is an offshoot of the Lethe after all. The unhappy king has enough misery weighing his mind that a little forgetfulness might do him some good.

See how she’s leaning closer to him as she points out the places the stream is burbling over stones? Persephone is so effortlessly affectionate. It’s so natural for her to be close to those she cares for as friends. Hades has needed this. It’s been good for him to experience kind regard for once. He’s had precious little of it. He only needs to believe he deserves it and give in. I can tell he wants to press a kiss into her hair. Just look at his body language. You can practically see the nervous energy pouring from him.

Here, lean closer. We will have to strain a bit, but we will just be able to hear them….

___________________

Hades’ fingers twitch in his gloves as he grips the bridge railing. He watches as Persephone leans over the rail, watching the silvery water, her lovely face aglow. It had been a nearly magical evening and now every fiber of his being aches to pull her close, to kiss her, to show Persephone just how very much she means to him.

Doubt grips him, dashing all his wishes.

Would she be receptive? Would she be horrified? Would she flee into this night? Thus far, she had seemed to be comfortable with him, and she had agreed to the date, after all. But…

Persephone interrupts his miserable thought trail by turning her radiant smile up to his face. 

“Thank you for tonight, Hades,” she murmurs, “I’ve had a wonderful time.”

A curl of panic threads through his gut at the idea she might want things to be over. He is nowhere near ready to end the night. Floundering for an excuse to extend things, Hades puts on his best scoundrel smirk.

“Is that so, little goddess? I’m glad to hear it, but we haven’t even seen the best part.”

She tilts her head quizzically and smiles. “Oh? What else do you have up your sleeve?”

His eyes go wide before he can stop them. Abruptly caught without a plan to back up his floundering, Hades stutters, “U-uhh…”

Persephone’s quizzical expression deepens for a moment before clearing into a knowing smile. She steps in front of him and floats herself up to sit on the railing, crossing her legs demurely at the knee.

“Would you like to know what I think, Hades?”

His mouth is dry, his heart pounding in his throat, so he only nods.

“I think I know you well enough by now, scoundrel, to know when you are bluffing.” She folds her hands on her knee and regards him with her own scoundrel smirk. “The only question is why.”

Hades swallows and licks his lips, finally managing to croak out a response. “I- I mean, th-that is…”

As protests go, it is far from eloquent and Persephone simply smiles as she reaches out to grasp his tie. As she draws the silken material through her fingers, Hades’ heart nearly stops.

“I can hazard guesses, of course,” she says quietly, tracing the subtle geometry of the pattern with her thumb. “Will you tell me when I’m right?”

He nods, a little frantic as he watches her fingers creep up the tie, closer and closer to his chest. He dares to hope that they might be thinking the same thing, the same wish for more and deeper connection.

Persephone looks up at Hades through her lashes and smiles. “It seems unlikely that you would bluff about having some unrevealed ‘best part’ and have something nefarious in mind, but I think that we need to eliminate it as a possibility, for the sake of thoroughness. Do you have a nefarious plot?” The twinkle in her eye belies her serious tone and Hades finds himself chuckling.

“I do not.”

Persephone nods as though pondering. “So, with that eliminated, there are two possibilities that I can see. A mundane plot, or… something else.” Her fingers gripped his tie, pulling him closer, uncrossing her legs, her knees on either side of his hips. As her fingers lift to caress his jaw, Persephone smiles. “I do hope that, after the lovely evening we’ve had, that you don’t have something mundane planned.”

With each of her touches, his heart skips another beat. By the time her knees caress his hips, Hades is decided. To Tartarus with this worry. He is sick of second-guessing himself and his feelings. He will take the leap and trust that she will catch him. Consigning them to the Fates, he smiles and returns the caress, his fingers cradling her jaw.

“You have missed one, Kore.” As she frowns in confusion, he goes on, his thumb stroking just below her lower lip. “You are operating on the assumption that I have a plan at all. There is none. No plan, no machinations, whether good, bad, or indifferent.”

The frowning notch between her brows deepens. “Then why…”

Hades interrupts her gently, “I have no plan, but I do have a wish. A wish that made me desperate to extend this evening until I could find some way to act on it. Even if that was promising something I had no idea how to deliver.”

Her frown melts into a smile and she raises her other hand, releasing his tie, caressing his face. “That must be quite the potent wish, Aidoneus. Would you care to share it with me?”

It takes but a moment to lean down to her. Sitting on the railing as she is, Persephone is well within reach. Still cradling her face, he whispers, “There’s no one I would rather share it with.”

The first brush of his lips on hers is lighter than a feather. Tentative, questioning, it is the tenderest caress, and it lights a fire inside him. Instantly, Hades knows that he will do anything for her. As though giving in to his most cherished hopes, even by so little, confirms everything he suspects about his need for her.

He is hers.

Persephone laughs softly and his heart squeezes at the sound.

“Ah, but see, Hades… You weren’t bluffing after all. I hadn’t seen the best part.”

He laughs and closes his eyes, unable to believe that everything he wants is here at last. “A true serendipity. How would you like to revisit the best part agai-”

His words are cut off abruptly as Persephone pulls him into another kiss. This one is not tentative or questioning. It is a bold and confident declaration. It is the statement of a goddess who knows what she wants and is unafraid to claim it.

Hades’ last thought before he gives himself over to the joy of the moment is a fervent wish that this might mean she is his as much as he is hers.

Everything surrounding them fades away. Nothing matters except the goddess in his arms and the warm reality of everything he wished for coming true. The park, the Underworld, all of creation, fades to white...

___________________

That is the end of the tape, I am afraid. They tend to end after the big moments, and that certainly was a big one.

Forgive me. I find I cannot stop smiling. It does my heart good to see such things. I’ve watched the two of them for so long, it is lovely to see them both so happy. Hopefully, you just witnessed a watershed moment. A turning for the better.

You are free, of course, to request to view another tape. Just remember that you will need to submit another requisition form. But I can see in your eyes that you are caught by them as I am. Intriguing are they not? Opposites, falling in love in a dark realm.

As they say, nothing grows in the Underworld. Except when it does. With careful tending, the seeds of change that have bloomed here will shake the cosmos.


End file.
